well

Sunday, October 11, 2015 (6:03 a.m.)

Awesome God,

I'm going with the truth right here. I feel tired. A little grumpy. Even my body is a bit out of sorts. What shall we do with this scenario?

(6:59 a.m.)

And back to bed I went.

Father, thank You that we have options. Choices. Decisions. Wonders. Guide me this day in making them well.

Mm. “Well”. Tears are sliding. Thoughts are darting. Antonyms are: badly, poorly, barely. And I get to turn back to Your Word for words like “truth”, “healthy”, “strong”. Mm, yes. Father continue speaking to me.

New Living Translation, 3 John 1:2, “Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” Blessed Father, it is You Who restores our strength. Our hope.

Father, thank You that every where in Your Word I look this morning I am encouraged. Reminded that You alone are God. You are good. You have a plan. You know all You are doing.

When Your apostle John wrote this letter to Gaius he wanted to commend him for his hospitality and to encourage him in his faithfulness. As I read his words, I ask (Matthew 7:7) that You would continue Your work in me to this end.

There are questions I have of past circumstances. Doubts. Fear. I look to You to present truth to me. John continued his letter with these words, “Some of the brothers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living in the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children live in the truth.”

Oh most dear and blessed God, how desperately I long to live in Your truth! Make it so blessed God. Make it so. I love You. I thank You. And I ask You. Amen.

(318 words ~ 8:45 a.m.)

just in time

Saturday, October 10, 2015 (6:56 a.m.)

Awesome, Amazing, Blessed Holy God,

Thank You. Most memorable words of greeting heard this morning? “You're just in time for color.” And I was! Thank You Father. The variety. The clarity. Such beauty.

Thank You that so very often we are just in time for so many things. Thank You that You are teaching me to look for these times.

Amazing God, how awesome of You to use the words “just in time” to teach me so much that I have never known about Your judge Gideon (Judges 6:1-7:25). How incredible that I get to sit here. Smiling. Shaking my head while thinking, “I never knew this”!

Thank You Father that You never fail to provide hope. Inspiration. Connection. I love that in The Learning Bible (Contemporary English Version) “Gideon answered [Your angel], 'Please don't take this wrong, but if the LORD is helping us, then why have all these awful things happened?'” (Judges 6:13a).

Without actually using those words, does not my attitude often present such little faith and hope to You? Thank You Father for showing me another side to Your warrior who “acted on his growing convictions, even when his faith wavered” (The Life Recovery Bible).

Thank You for spelling out for me to see, “Gideon was afraid to trust God because of his personal limitations.” Thank You too for the words, “His [Gideon's] first step toward success was to see himself as God saw him – a mighty warrior. Then he was able to hope in the possibility of freedom.”

Reading further in this devotion I sit up straighter as I breathe in more deeply to fully absorb the impact of Your Truth. “We, too, must begin by finding the courage to see ourselves in a new light and to summon up hope for a better life. Then as God gives us the strength, we can set about pursuing freedom from the bondage that surrounds us and our family.”

Blessed God, thank You that The Message paraphrases Judges 7:13a as,“Gideon arrived just in time to hear a man tell his friend a dream.” Thank You that I arrived 'just in time for color' this morning.

Thank You Father for all of the 'just in time's You provide us. Let me use them well today. To Your good and to Your glory. Thank You Blessed God. I love You. And oh, how I thank You! Just in time. Every time. Thank You. Amen.

(412 words ~ 10:39 a.m.)

cries of my heart

Friday, October 9, 2015 (7:50 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

Thank You. Not only did You heard the cries of my heart yesterday, You answered them. Profoundly. Thank You!

Thank You that in choosing to be absolutely honest with You tears flowed freely. Often. And cleanly. Some just rolled. Others were choked by sobs. But when all was said and done at the end of the day, my soul felt cleansed of guck tracing back some fifteen years.

Thank You Father. Thank You for the ability to be that honest with You. Thank You that we are free to come to You exactly as we are. Hurt. Afraid. Raw. And You accept our pain, our fear and You grow us from there. Thank You.

Thank You that in turning to Your Word again I ask, “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to You, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). As I inch my way back up to the beginning of this chapter, at each verse I find myself adamantly agreeing with the psalmist.

Father thank You that You are so incredibly good. Thank You that Your Word is Truth. It is vital. Living (Hebrews 4:12).

And would You just look at this! The Life Recovery Bible comment for verses 4:12-13. “During hard times our faith tends to dwindle; we may grow angry and harden our heart to the truth about ourself. The antidote to this problem is the living Word of God, which has power to penetrate even the deepest denial.”

I am evidence of this! Thank You Father.

“This is good new for those of struggling to overcome a dysfunctional lifestyle and having a tendency to distort reality. God knows everything about us, even the things we try to hide from ourself. We can count on Him, through His Word, to expose the problems and needs we will face in recovery.”

It is Your Living Word that allowed my thoughts and feelings to bubble forth yesterday. In a “highly emotional” way. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit.

Use me today to Your good and to Your glory. I love You. And I desire to serve You. Well. Thank You Blessed Father. Thank You. Amen.

(380 words ~ 8:50 a.m.)

"Just for today"

Thursday, October 8, 2015 (5:33 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

Help. Please. Change is coming. Quickly. Full force. And I don't know which way to turn in it. Serenity? Courage? Wisdom? All three? At once?

At once. At the same time. I get to look to You. To Your Word. And want desperately to fear not. To not be afraid. But just for now, this very moment, I am confessing fear to You. Fear of change. Pain. Inaction. Indecision.

And in that fear I am asking (Matthew 7:7) Your guidance. Your leadership. Your wisdom. Yes, Father, Your wisdom as it is described repeatedly through Your Word.

(7:08 a.m.)

Thank You Father that You are so incredibly good to us!

Thank You for setting the sky on fire with oranges and purples and colors we rarely see in regards to our sunrises. Thank You for beauty. And hope. And courage. And the decision to look at circumstances differently.

Thank You Father that I get to cry out to You with actual tears and sobs and anguish and fear. Knowing that You alone are God and good and have Your very best to offer each of us.

I'm telling You right now, I don't always want what You give us when You give it to us. Often times it takes me much longer than others to come around. Thank You that right now I am making the decision to ask You to help me want what we have. Wholeheartedly.

There's pain. And different. And mess. And confusion. And brand new territory. And fear. SO much fear, coupled with so very many tears. AND there's Y-O-U! Wonderful, powerful You!

Father, thank You that You do NOT leave us alone in our struggle. Thank You that there is indeed GROWTH in the struggle.

Thank You that You give us choices. Deuteronomy 30:19 spells it out so very clearly.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!”

Yes! Today... Choose life.

Thank You Father that I can fear. Yes. Be very afraid of people, places and things. OR I can fully esteem and revere YOU!

I can choose to try to eat or sleep or busy away my fearful thoughts and feelings. OR I can ♫Turn my eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.♫ Matthew 14:29-31; Hebrews12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

Yes. Just for today, I can choose to hope and have faith that You really, truly DO know exactly what You are doing. AND that You are going to give us the courage and the strength and the wisdom to carry it out.

Provide every single ounce of courage and power I need to be able to live this day with faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). I love You Father. I need You Jesus. I want You Holy Spirit. Empower and embolden me for Your good and Your glory. Just for today!

Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(535 words ~ 7:40 a.m.)

peace of mind

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 (4:45 a.m.)

Holiest God,

Good morning. Thank You. It's beautifully clear outside.

(6:05 a.m.)

And distractions prevail. Focus my mind, heart, soul and strength (Mark 12:30) back to You. Holy God, I love You. I want to serve You. And I want to do it well.

The sun is rising. There is much beauty. And still my mind wanders. There are concerns. Apprehensions. Unease. I look to You for the opposite. Peace of mind.

I spoke of it yesterday with a much loved one. Referencing Philippians 4:7. Oh, and would You just look at how The Message presents it! Tied, of course, with the preceding verse.

“Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Mm, yes! “A sense of God's wholeness”. Christ displacing worry. Yes! Please. More of that.

(7:10 a.m.)

Another diversion. A great conversation. With YOU as the focal point. Thank You God. Thank You Jesus. Thank You Holy Spirit.

The Life Recovery Bible's comment for Philippians 4:4-9. “True happiness can be found in every situation of life when we recognize that God is at work and always in control. Because Christ is with us and His return is certain, we can act calmly in pain and difficulty. Peace and joy come when we focus on those things that provide lasting value to our life. The more we commit ourself to knowing God's will through prayer and study of His Word, the better prepared we are to help ourself and others in the process of recovery.”

To this I add only, “Make it so Blessed God. Make it so.” I love You so very much. And I thank You for the blessings You continue providing. Thank You for being the incredibly good God that You are. Use me as You wish this day. I love You. Thank You. Amen.

(353 words ~ 7:18 a.m.)

today

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 (6:14 a.m.)

Holy God and Father,

Thank You. Thank You

(7:08 a.m.)

that You truly blow me away!

I started here thinking I wanted to talk with You about You being holy. And God. And Father. I mean, that's pretty incredible stuff when we stop long enough to think about it.

Then I gave thought to my heart for marriages. And wondered if perhaps we would go off in that direction. Nope. That wasn't it either.

Hebrews Chapter 3:1-4:13. Hearing God's Voice (Illustrated Bible Handbook)

Your voice. Your presence. Your rest. All here in our present day. And once again, I am so excited [AGOG!] that my head is swirling. With hope!

I read. I hope. Read more, hope more. To the point I wonder if I could explode. Implode? Short circuit? All from the excitement of what Your promises hold. For us.

Each and every single one of us is invited into Your presence. Because Jesus came and did all You created Him to do. It's like I'm reading this for the very first time.

Father God, I truly cannot thank You enough for the love You shower upon us. Continue Your work in teaching us to use Your love well.

Paul's words to the Philippians (1:9) as told to us through The Message. “So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately.”

You will teach us. I've experienced You teaching me. Continue Blessed Father. Continue Your holy work in each of us.

New International Reader's Version tells us, “So God again chose a certain day. He named it Today. He did this when He spoke through David a long time later. Here is what was written in the Scripture already given. 'Listen to His voice today. If you hear it, don't be stubborn.' (Psalm 95:7,8).”

Don't be stubborn. “Do not harden your hearts.” Important words Blessed Father. Let us use them well this day. Today. Yes. Provide our every single need, as You so perfectly do, that we would live today in glory and honor to You.

We love You Holy God. Thank You for all Your time and patience with us. We thank You. We love You. Use us. Amen.

(383 words ~ 8:02 a.m.)

God's wisdom

Monday, October 5, 2015 (5:43 a.m.)

Blessed Holy God,

Thank You. We took a day yesterday and did very little with it. Some would say wasted. Others? Regroup. Rest. Relax. And You? What are Your thoughts?

(6:39 a.m.)

Sometimes it seems the questions are too big. Not for You, of course. For me.

I do the wondering if it's okay to take a day to just replenish. And parts of me think, yes. Of course. But the critical side comes along with harsh judgments. So I bring it all back to You.

(7:19 a.m.)

And where do we end up? Your Word! Thank You.

Searching, “the mind of God” I got to read more of Your wisdom. Starting with 1 Corinthians 2:16. “... For, 'Who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who can give Him counsel?' But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”

And now I release a heavy sigh. Inhale a truly deep and cleansing breath. Relax my shoulders and choose once again to lean into and trust You.

Father, thank You. I can scold myself repeatedly for the story I tell myself about myself. Or I can come to the wisdom of Your Word.

One verse at a time I inch myself back up the pages. CHAPTER 2 Paul Preaches Wisdom. Right before that, The Wisdom of God. Reading over in The Learning Bible, the subtitle above 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 is Christ Is God's Power and Wisdom.

So I read. And hope. I get excited. And my head starts swirling. Blessed Father God, how I thank You for Your wisdom. Thank You that “The message about the cross doesn't make sense to lost people” (1 Corinthians 1:18a).

Thank You that when Paul wrote “To encourage the believers living in Corinth to resolve their problems and honor God” (The Life Recovery Bible THE BOTTOM LINE) he quoted Isaiah speaking Your Words to Your people.

I tend to find myself in such good company when I read, “I will destroy the wisdom of all who claim to be wise. I will confuse those who think they know so much” (1 Corinthians 1:19; Isaiah 29:14). I smile and again breathe in deeply as I remember that my job here is to follow Your lead.

And would You just take a look right here? A comment (The Life Recovery Bible) for 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, “People who refuse to turn their life over to the care of God cannot understand God's truth or His plan. That's why recovery begins not with understanding but with a decision to follow God. Prior to that decision, God's way may seem like madness. Only when we face the fact that our life is insane can we open ourself to God and His good plan for us.”

Blessed, Holy God I absolutely believe You have such a good plan for each of us! As much as I long for others to see Your wisdom, I must confess to doing such a poor job of advocating for It. Enable and empower me to this end.

I love You. I long to serve You. And I ask You to continue destroying my human wisdom. It's You and Your wisdom I want to share. Thank You Father. I love You. Amen.

(547 words ~ 8:51 a.m.)